


my once in a lifetime

by hanjihyun



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Harley Keener is a Good Bro, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Parent Tony Stark, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Harley Keener, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:20:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27161050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanjihyun/pseuds/hanjihyun
Summary: Tony Stark is known for many things. To the victims of his past life and his enemies, he still remains to be the merchant of death, the most famous mass murderer in America, among other things. To some others, he's considered as a hero--Iron Man, a man who is indestructible, powerful. To his family, friends and colleagues, he's just Tony--a good friend to the Avengers, an asset to SHIELD and a caring pseudo-brother to Rhodey and Happy.But no one would've thought that Tony Stark is now also... a father.That after everything he have went through in this cruel world, fate still gave him a chance to be happy in the form and name of a certain Peter Parker.But is fate really giving him his happiness that easily?But what happens when happiness isn't what it seems to be?--Where Tony Stark becomes Peter Parker's legal guardian after Spider-man: Homecoming and how Tony Stark navigates fatherhood and dating at the same time.
Relationships: Harley Keener & May Parker (Spider-Man), Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tony Stark/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 64





	1. where life begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, it's Jihyun here!
> 
> I'm here again for a new work (even though I still haven't finished my other ones).  
> Anyway, this story is actually the same as the fic that I've posted titled "Chasing Happiness". I didn't like what I have done on that fic so I decided to rewrite it again--with the same plot and all but I completely restarted the first chapter and thus, this is born.
> 
> I really like this prompt and idea and I just really want to take it out of my mind and make it a reality by writing it.  
> I hope you guys like this and please support me through leaving your comments, I love reading them :)
> 
> Anyways, without further ado, here's Chapter 1.  
> Enjoy ♥

Tony Stark is known for many things. To the victims of his past life and his enemies, he still remains to be the merchant of death, the most famous mass murderer in America, among other things. To some others, he's now considered as a hero--Iron Man, a man who is indestructible, powerful. To his family, friends and colleagues, he's just Tony--a good friend to the Avengers, an asset to SHIELD and a caring pseudo-brother to Rhodey and Happy.

But no one would've thought that Tony Stark is now also... a father.

"Aw!" Peter exclaims as he flinches away from Tony's hands.

Tony rolls his eyes at that, "Stay put, kid," he says, "If you keep wriggling away, I cannot promise you that I won't accidentally stab you or sew you at the wrong spot."

"But it hurts," Peter whines.

Tony sighs at that as he continues to sew Peter's back, "I know," the man simply says, completely empathizing with the child under his care--if Peter only knew how much it hurts the man just seeing him flinch.

"If you just had the mental capacity to not find troubles, then, you wouldn't be there getting your back sewed shut." somebody says that got Peter sighing and Tony chuckling.

"Who gave you the access to just face time us whenever you please, Harley?" Peter asks, without even looking up to see Harley's face in the hologram. "You cannot just call and not let us have the option to accept or not."

"I gave him the permission, Pete,"

Peter just snorts at that, "I don't think that was a good idea, Tony," the kid whispers.

Tony just chuckles while Harley scoffs, being able to hear the younger boy's words clearly, "I heard that, Webs,"

"Good," Peter simply says, "I wanted you to hear it."

 _Here we go again_ , Tony sighs, already feeling drained knowing that it will be a hell lot of back and forth between the two--bantering and teasing each other until one of them gives up and surrenders. But what Tony's not sure of is who will that be, since it always changes from time to time. Right now, he's going to bet that Harley's going to surrender first, only because Peter's hurt and Harley has a soft spot for Peter whenever he's injured (Or probably Harley has a soft spot for Peter, _always_.)

Harley just rolls his eyes at that, "I'm going to pretend that the last few seconds didn't happen," he says, waving his hand around to dismiss whatever they just talked about, "So what happened now?" Harley asks, "Mugging? Bank robbery? Tell me,"

Peter sighs at that as he finally looks up to see his pseudo-brother's face, "I'm okay," he simply says, dodging the older boy's question.

"That's not what I asked tho,"

"Harley, stop grilling Peter." Tony chastised as he finally finishes the stitches on Peter's back, finally letting out the breath that he was holding in, "Spider-baby's not doing too good. He gets a free pass from your interrogation."

"I'm not a baby," Peter says, pouting. 

"Are you sure Pete?" Harley teases, "But you pout like one tho."

Peter just glares at the older boy as Tony chuckles, "Stop teasing the baby, Harley." he says, "He's kinda peachy right now--his ass just got kicked by some petty muggers."

Peter groans as he throws his head back in embarrassment, unable to suppress his irritation towards the two anymore, "I did not get my ass kicked!" he exclaims, "There were five of them and they all got knives and guns so it wasn't an easy feat. They--"

"Yeah Pete, we get it." Harley quickly says, trying to stop the younger boy from spilling any further, but just by judging Tony's look right now, Harley knew that his brother would probably get grounded either way--he bets that it's going to be a week or so. "If I were you, I'd shut up before Tony grounds my butt for a week." he warns.

When Peter realizes his mistake, he quickly stops as he sighs, "I'm already grounded for a week, Harls." he says as he sheepishly steals a glance at his pseudo-father only to look away again after seeing that utter look of surprise on the old man's face.

Harley chuckles at that while Tony shakes his head at Peter's confession, his heart beating fast again now knowing the whole truth, "You told me that there were only three men, Peter." the man says, sighing, "I told you not to engage in any fights if there are four people or more!"

"Yeah, but Tony, I cannot just stand there and let them hurt those little kids!" Peter explains, "They were so scared and they almost got hurt if I didn't intervene!"

"And now, you're the one that got hurt!" Tony exclaims.

Peter just looks down, playing with his mask as he waits for another outburst from Tony. He knew that Tony doesn't like him taking on too many bad guys at a time, he knew how much Tony would worry and scold him for even thinking about it--even add May and Rhodey to that. But somehow, Peter doesn't feel any guilt because he knows that what he did was the right thing and as long as he's Spider-Man, he will always choose the right thing to do.

"You don't even have anything to say, Peter?" Tony asks but Peter just continues to look down.

The child continues to play with his mask, not risking to see Tony's disappointed and worried eyes on him and just waits for the onslaught of words.

"Hello?" Harley asks, making his presence known since the two seemed like they have forgotten that he was there too, "I'm still here," he says, "Should I end the call and just call again after you finish scolding Peter?" Harley asks, bored.

But before Tony could even answer, Peter quickly protested, "No! Don't leave me here, Harls!" Peter squeaks, wanting to have Harley there just so he could be spared from all the scolding that he'll be getting from Tony.

"Harley, end the call." Tony says, his voice stern.

"No!" Peter says again, "If you end that call, I'm not going to talk to you for the rest of the week, Keener! Don't you dare!" he exclaims as he stands up, walking a foot away from Tony.

"Peter..." Tony says.

"Don't hang up Harley!"

Through Peter's experience, he knew that Tony doesn't like scolding either him or Harley if other people are present--something about not embarrassing kids and traumatizing them and all that--that's why whenever him or Harley is in trouble (mostly him), Tony would always scold and chastise them in private. So Peter also knew that he can use Harley right now for his leverage.

Harley shrugs at that as he shakes his head, "Give the baby a free pass, Tony. You're the one who told me that he gets that, come on." the older boy says, sticking up for his brother since he couldn't do anything being he's miles away from home.

Tony glares both at Harley and Peter, unwavering, "Harley, end the call, now," the man says seriously.

"Come on Tony," Harley urges, "Pete's injured and he's fussy and all that. I can even see a drop of tear forming from the baby's eyes."

"I'm not--" Peter protests through gritted teeth.

"Shush," Harley says.

"Harley--"

"Please, Tony?"

Tony wanted to say no. The man wanted to talk to Peter and drill into this troublemaking kid that endangering himself is not fine and it will never sit well with Tony no matter what Peter says. And if he needs to remind that over and over again for this little mischief-maker's brain to remember, he will gladly do so. But right now as Tony stares at the two boys' Bambi eyes--both in brown and blue--he already knew that he wasn't going to win against the two. He knows that his heart is not fit enough to argue with his two kids.

 _Gosh, what have I gotten myself into?_ Tony thought.

The man sighs, defeated, "Haah, when would I ever win against you two?" he asks, more to himself.

"Never, I guess?" Harley says, shrugging.

Tony removes the bloody gloves from his hands as he throws it on the bin beside Peter, "Don't think that we're done talking, Pete." he says, "May will surely know about this." he added, wanting for Peter to know that their discussion isn't over yet... maybe he can get May on the phone and they'll talk it out.

"But Tony--" Peter retorts.

"And you're grounded, you hear me?" Tony added.

Peter sighs at that as he glares at Harley, trying to relay the threat with his eyes, "I knew that. You already grounded me, Tony."

"Yeah, but now, for two weeks."

"WHAT?!" Peter asks, surprised, his eyes almost bulging out of its socket, "That's not fair!"

"Yeah, punishments are usually unfair, Pete," the man says, "If it's up to May, I don't think it'll be only two weeks for you."

Harley snickers at that, feeling revengeful and sorry at the same time for his brother, "If I were you, I'd take that option, Pete." the older boy says, "I might be able to save you from Tony but you know that I'm no match with May,"

Tony rolls his eyes at Harley as he points at the kid, "One more word from you, Keener, and I'll ground your butt too even if you're miles away from here." Tony warns.

"Relax, old man," Harley deadpans.

Peter just rolls his eyes at the two as he sighs, knowing that he wouldn't win against Tony regarding this--it's either he gets suspended for two weeks or he digs his grave deeper and have that two week stretch at least into a month, so he settled with the latter. "Fine," he resigns.

"Good," Tony says, letting out a relieved sigh now that the tension is over between them. Reprimanding and disciplining Peter and getting him to learn rules is always the worst thing for Tony because he can never truly get mad with the kid but he sure knows that he needs to be that metal arm to discipline Peter even if it's hard for him personally, "Go change and eat, okay?" he asks, "Your food's at the table. I'll try to join you after I make some calls, okay bud?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," Tony says, smiling as he ruffles Peter's hair. "And you kid," Tony says as he points at Harley, "FRIDAY's keeping an eye on you there so behave yourself, okay?"

"I know, Tony," Harley says, rolling his eyes.

"Good," the man says, "Eat your dinner now too if you haven't yet. I'll talk to you later if you're still awake, okay?"

"Kay,"

"Behave, you two." Tony finally warns as he leaves, leaving Peter and Harley still on video call.

Peter grumbles when Tony was finally out of earshot, finally letting his frustration show, "You owe me a week, Keener." Peter says, grabbing his suit from the table as he walks towards his bedroom to change.

Harley chuckles at that, "That wasn't my fault, Webs and you know it." the older boy says, "You're the one who confessed to Tony, dude."

"Yeah, I did, _accidentally_." Peter answers back as he grabs his shirt from his dresser to get comfy, "If you didn't tease me, I wouldn't have said the whole truth!"

"That wasn't me either! That was Tony!" Harley says, defending himself.

Peter sighs at that as he goes out of his room to eat, Harley's hologram following him around, "Why did you even call?" Peter asks, "I mean, not to be rude or anything but you could've given a heads-up."

"I called to see how you're doing!" Harley exclaims, "Gosh Pete, you're hurting my feelings over here. Don't you miss me?"

 _I do._ Peter wanted to say but decided not to just because Harley will most likely just tease him for that. "I don't, actually." he says instead, chuckling, "At least now that you're not here, I don't see any of your misplaced things because of your messy ass."

The older boy snorts as he shakes his head, "Well, good, cause I didn't miss you either." Harley snaps back, "I don't miss covering up for you and stitching your freaking body just so Tony wouldn't ground your ass." he says, "Few weeks of me gone and you already got yourself in trouble."

Peter then chuckles at that, knowing that Harley certainly made a point. If the older boy was home, Peter was pretty sure he wouldn't be grounded for two weeks right now and Tony wouldn't have even known he was injured--thanks to Harley and Ned's help for hacking his suit. If the older boy was home, the hack would've been still activated and Karen wouldn't have alerted Tony of his injury and Harley would've been the one to endure seeing and stitching Peter's battered body while he scolds the young vigilante in a hushed tone inside either his or Peter's bathroom and away from FRIDAY's cameras.

"Get outta here," Peter says, chuckling.

"What?" Harley asks, "Did I hit a nerve?"

"Okay, fine," Peter resigns, "You proved your point,"

"I know I did," Harley shrugs.

"Gosh, you're not here but you still manages to annoy me." Peter groans as he settles on the table to finally eat since he was starving after the patrol.

Harley shrugs, "It's my job,"

"Yeah, right," Peter mumbles, "Good work." he says, not enticing a conversation with Harley any longer because he knows that if he continues answering Harley's remarks, the older boy would just tease him longer and he's definitely not in the mood for his brother's trolling.

"Why, thank you," Harley says, grinning so wide it irritates Peter just looking at him.

"No problem," Peter simply says as he continues eating, deliberately ignoring the older boy and trying so hard not to let Harley's grin from irritating his nerves even further.

Harley snorts as he lays down on his bed, his phone resting beside him, "So tell me, how did you got injured?" the boy asks, "You didn't answer me when I asked you earlier."

Peter doesn't respond, continuing to eat and intentionally ignoring Harley's words.

"Webs, I know you hear me,"

"I do hear you," Peter says as he shoves another forkful of spaghetti into his mouth.

"Then why are you not talking to me?"

Another silence.

Harley finally sighs, realizing what Peter was doing, "You're no fun, Webs," he says, "You're ignoring me now."

"Oh, you caught on?" Peter asks sarcastically, still eating undisturbed, "I thought you wouldn't get that."

"Gosh Pete," Harley exclaims, "I'm so bored out of my mind here. That's the very reason why I even called and you're not even talking to me." the boy says and when Peter didn't answer back again, Harley sighs, "Fine, okay, I'm not going to tease you anymore, just talk to me."

Peter smirks then, finally feeling triumphant that the older boy had raised his white flag in surrender, "I'm listening,"

Harley groans at that as he shakes his head, "Gosh, you're such a hard work Pete,"

"Just talk Harls, quit whining," Peter says, "If you don't want, then I'll end the call."

"Argh, fine," Harley relents, "If I just wasn't so pissed off right now, I would've started a fight with you for being bratty today."

"Hey, you're the one who teased me... and besides, I'm wounded and grounded so it gives me the right to be bratty." Peter shrugs, "So, who's this shit that's shitting on you?"

Harley gasps dramatically like it's the first time he's hearing Peter cuss, "I'm telling Tony that the baby just said some _no-no words_." Harley says, seemingly still not over teasing the younger boy, "We don't say those around here. Gosh, where did you even learn--"

"Keener," Peter says in warning, "Are you going to rant about your horrible college life or I'll end the call because I'm seriously tired to put up with your ass right now."

"I'm just kidding!" Harley exclaims, "You really can't take a joke, Webs."

Peter quickly finishes his plate as he grabs another, "I can't take it right now, I'm tired." he says, "But tomorrow, probably, I could." he shrugs.

"Fine, fine," Harley says, surrendering.

"So who is it now?" Peter asks again.

"Guess who?"

"Is it Johnny again? Johnny Storm?" Peter asks, "Your roommate?"

"Who else?"

Peter smirks at that, seemingly satisfied to know that there is someone else out there who's annoying his brother in his stead.

\--

Tony woke up hearing that annoying sound of an alarm. He didn't know where it was coming from or why it was even so loud. Did he forget to close the window again and somehow the sound from many stories down still manages to wake him up? Is it the chaos of New York streets that he's hearing right now?--the man doesn't really know.

"FRIDAY, close the windows or turn off whatever that alarm is," Tony commands, his eyes still closed, wanting to go back to sleep.

There was no answer.

"FRI?" Tony calls yet again as he finally opens his eyes, alert.

Tony wasn't greeted by his pristine ceiling or the voice of his AI. Tony wasn't even sleeping on the massive king size bed that he fell asleep on.

_He wasn't in the tower._

The man quickly gets up--not from his bed but from a very hard steel--as he swiftly looks around, wondering where he was.

And as soon as he sees the chaos before him, he already knew where he was. In the radical part of his mind, he knew that all he needed to do was to _wake up_ in order to spare himself from another fucked up scene that will happen before his very eyes a few moments from now. But his heart tells him to run, to find the _woman_ that always visits his dreams in this very same place every night. His heart tells him to _save her_ \--to save the woman that he still loves even just for _once_ \--even if he knows that even if he does save her... when he wakes up, she will still _not be there_.

Tony jumps from his place, running away as he quickly made his way to where _Pepper_ is. And there, not too far from him, he sees Pepper barely hanging by the rig.

And _just like any other time_ , he says, "JARVIS, give me a suit, right now!" he exclaims as he jumps another leap just to get to Pepper in time.

Just to save Pepper...

As he climbs the stairs, he sees one of his suit ready to take him... and _just like any other time_ , it gets blown off, leaving him defenseless yet again.

"Argh," he groans as he falls, but quickly regaining his composure to continue running--because he can't stop now, not when Pepper was waiting for him.

Tony jumps again to finally arrive at the rig where Pepper was dangling off. After that, he knew logically that Rhodey should've spoken to him through the comms--telling him about rescuing President Ellis and all that--but Rhodey's voice never met his ears... _as it should_ , because Tony knew that this nightmare was just about him and Pepper.

Just the two of them and no one else.

Finally, Tony arrives at the rig and saw Pepper dangling, calling for his name, "Tony!" she shouts.

"Pep, I got you!" Tony says, his voice full of worry and anxiety, "Relax!" he says, more to himself than to Pepper. Tony climbs the rig just so he could be closer to Pepper, reaching his hands up to catch Pepper, "I got you," he repeats as he tries his very hard to reach the woman.

"Aaah!" Pepper shouts, panicked and distressed.

"Just look at me!" Tony exclaims just like any other times, _please look at me...._ he pleads inside his mind. _Please look at me just one last time... let me see those blue eyes one last time._

Tony knew that any minute now, he will relive those nightmares again... he knows that any moment now, Pepper will fall to her demise, never to be seen ever again. But even though he knew, he pleads to Pepper... pleads to this woman to let go and let him catch her, "I can't reach any further," Tony says through his glassy eyes, "You can't stay there, right? You got to let go!" he pleads--wanting for Pepper to trust him... wanting for _his own self_ to catch her, to save her.

"YOU GOTTA LET GO! I'M GOING TO CATCH YOU, I PROMISE!" Tony shouts, full of conviction. _I will catch you honey, you just got to trust me... please, trust me._

And just like any other of his dreams... and his reality, _Pepper falls_.

"NO!" Tony gasps, sitting upright.

"Boss?" FRIDAY asks immediately, "It seems that you have experienced yet another nightmare this week." the AI says.

Tony didn't answer back, too occupied to get his breathing back to normal as he tries his very best to get rid of Pepper's face out of his mind. _I couldn't save her. I never got to save her. I will never be able to save her._

It has been years now since... ...but his nightmares are still the same. He still wakes up in that same place, in that same time, with that same woman. He still have nightmares of his failure--reliving that very same night over and over and over again. But no matter how many times he tried saving Pepper, no matter how many times he races against time before his woman falls, no matter how many times he runs, jumps, fights or pleads... the outcome are always the same.

Pepper falls... Pepper dies... Tony fails over and over and over again.

"Boss?" FRIDAY asks again when Tony didn't give any answer to her.

"Where... where's Peter?" Tony asks, his breath hitching as he tries so hard to catch his breath.

"Young boss is currently sleeping in his bedroom." the AI answers back.

Tony breathes out as he rubs his face with his tired hands, "Is he... Is he alright?" Tony asks, "Is Peter okay?"

"Young boss is of sound health except for his minor injury that he acquired during his patrol." the AI answers back again as the familiar sound of Peter's heartbeat plays as a background in Tony's bedroom.

"Harley?" Tony squeaks.

"Mr. Keener is also sleeping in his dorm at Yale." the AI answers back dutifully.

"And... and May?"

"Ms. Parker is still on her shift at MedStar,"

"How about Rho--"

"Colonel Rhodes is currently getting ready for his work in Washington while Mr. Hogan is currently sleeping in his apartment as well as Ms. Keener--she's at home with her mother," the AI answers back.

Tony breathes, releasing that pent up panic in his chest as he burrows his face on his palms, "Okay... that's... that's good," he says, panting like he had just ran a marathon--maybe he did... well, at least, in his nightmare.

"Everything is fine, boss," FRIDAY says, assuring Tony just like _any other nights_. It was like everything that was happening is already encrypted in FRIDAY's codes--Tony wakes up in his nightmare, FRIDAY assures her boss that everything's fine, Tony would ask first about Peter's wellbeing or where the child is, then ask about Harley and then the three adults and Harley's sister and FRIDAY would tell Tony that _his family_ is alright... that everything's _alright_ , then Tony would leave his room, start his day early and never gets to sleep in a healthy amount of hours. It's like this most nights and it's only in a few nights when Tony could be spared from his nightmares.

"Yeah, good, uh..." Tony mumbles, "Yeah, thanks FRI," he says as he brushes his face in annoyance, wanting to get rid of the remaining sleep on his system, afraid that he might relive that very same nightmare again if he attempts to fall back to sleep.

"No problem, boss,"

Tony sighs as he finally stands up, wanting to drink a pitcher of coffee just to chase his drowsiness away. The man drags his heavy body off the vicinity of the bed as he walks towards the door.

But before the man could even open his door, he ponders as he speaks, "How about..." he mumbles, "How about Emma?" he whispers, like it was some kind of secret that no one can know--like it was a sin to ask FRIDAY about the whereabouts of another woman. "Is she... is she okay?" he asks, his voice still low.

"I do not know the location of Ms. Roberts or how she's doing." FRIDAY answers back, "She is not on your list for code BLUE."

"Uh, yeah..." Tony mumbles, absent-mindedly, "Yeah, that's... that's right,"

"Would you like me to add Ms. Roberts to code BLUE?" the AI asks.

"No... uhh," Tony ponders, "No, don't... don't put her in there."

"Got it, boss,"

It has been already an hour now since Tony had woken up and started working in his workshop--pulling up Peter's suit and upgrading some techs and also pulling up his armor and doing the same thing. But now, the man had went up to their common floor to get their breakfast ready and to also wake Peter up for his school.

"Pete?" Tony calls as he ascends the stairs from his workshop. "You awake, buddy?"

"Young boss is still sleeping," FRIDAY answers for Peter.

"Wake him up FRI," Tony orders, "Tell him I'll be in the kitchen to prepare his food."

Tony walks towards the kitchen and started cooking. Today's menu would be chocolate chip pancakes--Peter's favorite--and a pitcher of orange juice (no pulp) just like how Peter likes it. And with Tony's experience and expertise, it only took him a couple of minutes to finish cooking and stacking Peter's pancakes up. The man then placed the food on the dining table and poured a glass of juice. And when the man finally finished everything, he realizes how quiet it was and the kid still hasn't emerge from his bedroom.

"FRI, where's the kid?" Tony asks

"Mr. Parker is still dressing up and it seems like he's cramming to get his Spanish homework done." FRIDAY answers back.

Tony sighs as he shakes his head, "Gosh, this kid," Tony grumbles, "Did he stay up all night talking to Harley and Ned again?" he asks as he wipes his hand clean with the kitchen towel.

"No sir," the AI answers back, "Young boss had drifted off to sleep after he ate and while video calling Mr. Keener."

"Hmm," Tony hums, "It must be the healing factor then," he says as he started walking towards Peter's bedroom. The man knocks once and called, "Kid?"

"I'm almost ready, Tony!" Peter shouts, "I'll be out!"

The billionaire sighs as he opens the door, not waiting for the kid to open it up himself. He steps inside and found Peter slumped on his study table, still working on the Spanish homework that FRIDAY had told him about.

"Oh, look what we've got here?" Tony asks, his voice leading.

"Tony!" Peter squeaks as he quickly stands up, covering his undone homework with his whole body, "What are you--what are you doing here?" the kid asks, trying so hard to hide his unfinished homework from his pseudo-father, not wanting Tony to get mad early in the morning, "I'll be--"

"Kid, FRI already told me that you were cramming for your homework." Tony says, sighing, "You can drop the act."

"I uhh--"

"What did I tell you about doing home works first before going to patrol?" Tony asks as he leans against the kid's door, crossing his arms, "I told you that you can't go on patrol unless you finished all your school works, right?"

"No! I... I was... uhh..." Peter stutters, wanting to give a good excuse but not finding it, "Ugh, fine," the kid finally surrenders, realizing that he's already busted anyway, "I was... I was doing my home work."

"I figured," Tony says, shrugging, "So you went to patrol last night without finishing your homework?" Tony asks, raising his brow. "You've already blown the popsicle stand last night, kiddo," the man tsks, 

"No! I just forgot about it!" Peter defends himself, "I really thought that I did everything already but I forgot that I've written my homework note for this on my other notebook and I just... I just remembered it while I was taking a... a bath." the kid finishes, sighing.

Tony raises his brow again at that, "Hmm?"

"Please don't ground me again, Tony," Peter pleads, "I really didn't do it on purpose though. I just really forgot about it."

Peter has always been a really bad liar, that's why when he's in trouble, it doesn't take too much time for May and Tony to find out the truth. The kid would literally tell you the whole truth without him even noticing. And right now, Tony could definitely tell that Peter was being honest.

Tony sighs at that as he shakes his head, "I just hope that this doesn't happen again, capiche?" the man asks.

"Yes, of course!" Peter squeaks yet again, "I'll never go out patrolling without finishing my home works." the kid trails, "I know how much trouble I'll be in when you and May find out." he added, looking down.

"Good," Tony says coolly.

"So... uh, am I?" Peter asks, treading the waters, "I... am I grounded for longer? Or??"

"We'll settle with the two weeks." Tony says, "But please, don't forget your home work again, okay?" he asks, "For now, I'll let this one pass."

Peter lets out a breath of relief as he exclaims, "GREAT!" the kid beams, "That's great." he repeats as he goes back to work, "I'll be out in five!"

Tony chuckles at that as he nods, "I'll be out, waiting, kid," he says, leaving Peter's bedroom and lets the kid do his own thing.

"FRI?" Tony calls as he closes Peter's door, walking back towards the dining room to wait for the kid, "How's Harley doing?"

"Mr. Keener is currently arguing with his roommate while having a left over donut as breakfast." FRIDAY answers back.

"This roommate is really giving Harley a run for his money, huh?" Tony asked, chuckling, "Tell Harley that he's met his match."

"Message sent," FRIDAY answers back as Tony nods.

"By the way, order Harley some food for his dinner later, okay?" Tony asks, "I don't want him compromising his health and losing weight while away from home. I feel like May and Sarah's going to kill me when they find out that I'm not looking out for the kids."

"Sure, boss," FRIDAY answers back.

Tony nods as he sits down on the dining table, waiting for Peter to finish his home work. It took several answered e-mails and a few reads on the newspaper when Peter finally emerges from his bedroom, dressed in his signature science-pun shirt, all ready to go to school.

"Wow, five minutes on the dot." Tony says, smiling. "Eat now kid, or you'll be late for school."

"Thanks for the food, Tony," Peter says before digging in on the food, practically inhaling the pancakes that Tony had made, "Is Happy going to drop me off?"

"Yup," Tony says as he calmly eats his breakfast.

"Can't I just take the subway?" Peter asks, "I don't want to get in his way. I know Happy's busy with all the SI stuff."

"It's his job, bud," Tony answers back, just like the other times Peter had asked to take the subway instead, "And it makes me feel better to know that Happy's with you and ready to protect you."

"But I can--"

"Protect yourself, I know," Tony says, finishing Peter's words, "But I'm still not over with what happened last month with the paparazzi's, kiddo." he reminds, "Let Happy take you for the mean time... at least for my peace of mind, okay?"

Peter sighs, "Okay," the kid relents, knowing how much it scared him and Tony when he was swarmed by paparazzi's on his way to school last month. He can still remember the overwhelming flashes of the cameras and the ear-splitting noise from the paparazzi's, demanding to know more about him.

"Good," Tony says, smiling.

Peter just nods, continuing to eat the pancakes before him.

Tony takes a bite from his food as he watches Peter with a fond smile, "Gosh Pete, no one's going to take those pancakes from you."

"I'm just really on a hurry," Peter answers back making Tony chuckle.

"Okay, but please don't choke and give me a heart attack."

Peter just continues digging in while Tony continues eating but not without sparing a few warm looks at his kid.

"Boss," FRIDAY calls, "Someone is calling you on the phone."

"FRI, it's breakfast," Tony deadpans, "You know that I don't take calls when we're eating."

"I know, boss," the AI answers back, "But it's Secretary Ross,"

"I don't care," Tony mutters, "Put him on hold if you want."

"Okay, boss,"

Peter smiles, chuckling, "You always love to put the secretary on hold, Tony,"

"I love watching the line blink, kiddo," Tony chuckles back, "You know that."

Peter just shook his head, "Feels like a serious matter for him to call you so early in the morning," the kid says, "You can always answer the call, Tony,"

"Nope," Tony says, popping his 'P', "Nothing is more important than eating with my kid,"

Peter chuckles at that as he nods, "If you say so,"

Tony then clears his throat as he remembers that he'll be late tonight and he'll probably miss dinner, "By the way, kid," Tony says as Peter looks up at him, "I'll be late tonight so don't wait for me anymore, okay?" he says, "You can order some food through FRIDAY and I'll also ask Happy to stay with you until I arrive, hmm?"

Peter rolls his eyes at that, "You don't need Happy to babysit me, Tony."

Tony shook his head along with the fork in his hand, "Nope, I need to make sure you're not doing any funny business while I'm not at home, kiddo," he says as he points at Peter with the fork.

Peter just grumbles at that, "I don't do any funny business tho," he says.

"I'm going to disregard what you just said," Tony deadpans, "Anyway, tomorrow, Nat's going to be here too since I have some business to do. She'll be the one to babysit you then since Happy's going with me." Tony says.

"Nat's coming?!" Peter asks excitedly.

Tony chuckles at that, nodding, "Yeah," he says.

"That's awesome!" Peter exclaims, "I missed her so much. Is she finished with her mission in Alaska?" he asks.

"Yup," Tony answers back, "But she still has some unfinished business in Germany and she'll be there for weeks." he says, shrugging, "But she told me that she misses a certain spider so she decided to stop by New York for three days before going for her business."

Peter smiles widely at that, his eyes twinkling, "That's cool!" he exclaims, "I'm so excited!"

Tony just smiles at that, knowing how much Peter and Natasha had grown into each other for the past few months.

"Peter, Mr. Hogan is already waiting for you downstairs," FRIDAY says.

"And there's my ride," Peter quickly says as he finishes his breakfast with one gulp of the orange juice, "Bye Tony!" the kid shouts as he literally sprinted out, running towards the elevator.

"Bye kid!" Tony beams, a smile lingering on his face even though Peter had already vanished through the elevator.

It has been almost a year now since this became his life and he still can't believe it... he still can't believe that even after everything he had done, that even after all his failure, life still gave him something good. That even after all the wrong things that he had done before, life still gave him a family through Rhodey and Happy, the Keeners and the Parkers. It may be dysfunctional and flawed, but that is what they are--a family... and he's so thankful for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, that wasn't really much but I hope you guys still liked it!  
> Please leave some comments and kudos and subscribe to this story to get an e-mail whenever I update.
> 
> You can also reach me through my tumblr @hanjihyun-ao3 ♥
> 
> Anyways, I love you guys and see you on my next update :*
> 
> Mark 8:35 - If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.
> 
> ♥♥♥


	2. give my heart away

The whole day has been uneventful and Peter was so excited to go back home, eat and sleep and probably annoy Harley in his spare time.

"So, your dad's not home?" Ned asked Peter as they both walk through the hallways of Midtown.

"No," Peter says, "He's just going to be late. I think he has a date with his girlfriend or something, but tomorrow and the day after that, I think he'll be going to some of his business things that I don't really understand anything about."

Ned gasps, "Dude! So that means we can finally finish the Millennium Falcon at your house tomorrow if Mr. Stark's not gonna be there!" he says, "I mean, we could do it at my house but it's going to be real hard to pack the Lego's and stuff. We could lose some pieces moving--"

"No," Peter says, "Sorry man, but Nat's going to be there tomorrow." he says, "Maybe we could finish the Falcon next week. I can tell Tony about it and maybe, Harley's going to be home for the weekend too, so..."

"You mean the Black Widow?!" Ned gasps, the idea of building the LEGO set completely flying out of the kid's mind, "I thought she's too busy because of some SHIELD business?"

"Shush," Peter exclaims as he brings up his finger on top of his lips, "Dude, lower your voice down. You know that those are classified stuff."

"Oh yeah," Ned says, lowering his voice, "Sorry," the kid whispers, "I sometimes still forget that she's still supposed to be on the run."

Peter shrugs, "Well, she practically still is. She just randomly goes into SHIELD missions when they need her expertise and all that."

Ned smiles, "Or when she misses her spider-kid," he says, winking at Peter.

Peter groans at that as he shakes his head, "Stop calling me her spider-kid, Ned,"

"Why not?" Ned asks, "She's a spider, and you're a spider and you guys are basically so close!"

"Gosh, at this rate, I'll basically be everyone's kid." he huffs.

Ned shrugs, "I mean, the Avengers basically adopted you so--"

"Ned," Peter says as he stops walking, glaring at his friend, "Can we drop it?" he asks, sighing. "It has been a year now since all the legal guardianship thing. Haven't you moved on from that yet?" he added, "You've basically met half of the Avengers already."

Ned shrugs, smiling, "Dude, you know that it's still surreal to hear you talk about _THE_ Black Widow and basically knowing everything about her mission and me referring to Tony Stark as your father." Ned mused, "I don't think I will ever get over it."

Peter just rolled his eyes at his best friend as he pulled on the straps of his bag, "First of all, it still doesn't feel real, Ned, so I get you." he says as he continues walking, Ned following him, "But I mean, it's just so weird dropping nicknames and titles and stuff." he says, "And I know that we've been an official family for like, months or probably a year now but I still forget it sometimes." he shrugs, "But please don't start labeling them like... like--you know what I mean," Peter says, sighing, not even really knowing where his thoughts are going, "And second, please don't call Mr. Stark as my dad... it's... it's weird." he finally says.

"But isn't he technically your dad now?" Ned asked, raising his eyebrows, not quiet getting his best friend's point, "I mean, he's your legal guardian now and you live at his house so I think, you should start calling him _dad_ or something."

Peter doesn't know what sets him off but his heart started beating faster as soon as Ned suggested the 'dad' thing, "Mr. Stark's not my..." Peter wanted to retort or at least explain to Ned how he's feeling about everything but it was just so hard to put into words so he settled for lesser words, "I don't want our relationship to change. I mean, yeah, he's my guardian but you know... he's Mr. Stark to me and I'm just Peter to him. We're not... I don't..."

Ned sighs, "Dude, if this is about Ben--"

"This is not about Ben, Ned. This is not about my uncle or my father. It's..." Peter finally sighed as he surrendered, "Look, I just got used with calling him as Mr. Stark so I don't think I'll be able to change that habit. It has nothing to do with Ben or my dad."

"But you did change that habit." Ned says, disagreeing, "You call him Tony now."

"That's--"

"What's up, dorks?"

Gosh, if it wasn't the most glorious save, "MJ!" Peter beamed, his lips turning into a kilowatt smile as soon he sees the girl, the issue about Tony was long gone as soon as MJ walked beside them, "Are you going home now?" he asks.

"Yeah, where would I be going other than my home?" MJ asked, shrugging, "It's dismissal,"

"Yeah, yeah, uhh... you're right." Peter stutters, looking awkward. "So uh, what are you doing tonight?" he asks.

"Well," MJ trails as the three of them walks together, "Finish our homework and probably start reading the new book that I got." the girl shrugs, "How about you... what do Stark _heirs_ do in their free time?" she asks, her voice and face so serious, it literally had Peter shaking.

"Uhh..." Peter mumbles as he looks at MJ like a deer caught in headlights.

MJ breaks in a smile as she chuckles, "I'm messing with you," she says.

"Oh.. uh,"

"Peter, I think your ride's here," Ned mumbles out of the blue, grabbing Peter's attention out of the beautiful girl in front of him as he follows he best friend's eyes.

And when the kid saw where his best friend was looking, his eyes grew two times larger as he sees Natasha standing against one of Tony's Audi, wearing a whole black outfit with a matching cap, waiting for him.

"What the hell is she doing here?!" Peter gasps, his eyes bulging out.

"You have a date with a rogue?" MJ asks, scrunching her face, the smile on her face was long gone, "Didn't know you have a taste for red heads, Peter,"

"She's blonde now, MJ." Ned corrects.

"Figures," the girl shrugs.

"I gotta go!" Peter squeaks, tapping Ned's shoulder absentmindedly as his eyes were locked on Natasha, "It's supposed to be Happy fetching me today, isn't it?" he asks himself, questioning everything that he had heard from Tony this morning. The kid literally half-jogged, half-walked towards the woman who was supposed to _not_ behere. "See you on Monday!" Peter exclaims, "B-bye MJ!" the kid added, "And you too Ned!" he ended as he quickly jogs towards the assassin with a displeased look in his face.

"You know, I still can't get over the fact that Peter is being chauffeured by an Avenger--well, a rogue is probably the right word to say now." MJ mumbles.

"You're not the only one," Ned mumbles back.

"Nat, what are you doing here?!" Peter asks, whispering in gritted teeth as soon as he was close enough to the assassin, "Get in the car before anybody recognizes you."

Natasha rolls his eyes at Peter's response, "Is that how you greet older people, Peter?" she asks as she gets inside the car as she is told, "I'm telling May,"

Peter groans as he closes his eyes, "I don't even understand why you guys always tattletale on May." he mumbles as he gets inside the car as well.

Nat hums as she zooms out of the school zone, "Because she's the boss of you," she answers as she spares a glimpse at the teenager.

"I'm my own boss," Peter simply says, rebutting the assassin.

Natasha sighs as he sees Peter's mistake, "Alright Mr. Boss," she mutters, "Put your seat-belt on, you always forget."

Peter just disregards Natasha's sarcastic reply as he puts the seat-belt on just like he was told, "Why are you even here today? I mean, not that I don't like you here but just... I thought Happy's going to be the one fetching me today." Peter explains, "And Tony said that you won't arrive here until tomorrow."

"Mission finished early," Nat dismissed, "Besides, I don't trust Happy babysitting--no, scratch that--I don't trust _you_ with Happy. You might give the man a heart attack when you do things that might possibly kill or endanger yourself." she answers, "I'm sure Happy won't be handle the stress, so I'm helping him out here."

Peter shakes his head, a small smile creeping up the kid's face, "Do things like what?" he asks.

"I don't know, maybe blow up the kitchen while you're cooking or stay up late because of patrolling and then get stabbed in the process--I don't know what you Gen Z's do."

"You're the one who can' t cook, Nat."

"First of all, that makes the two of us. Why do you think Tony always orders for us whenever I babysit you?"

"You're not babysitting me." Peter retorted.

"Yeah, okay," Nat shrugs, not giving the kid anytime to banter with her as she quickly changed the topic, "Where is your _dad_ even? Is it an official SI business or a SHIELD one?"

"Neither," Peter answers back, "Do you have any food? I'm starving." he asks, changing the topic, wanting to disregard how Natasha had called Tony _his_ dad just like what Ned had done.

"At the back, there's some chips and granola bars there." Nat answered back while Peter started his adventure out of the front seat to get to the back, "What do you mean neither? Where's he going?"

"Hmm..." Peter mumbles as he goes over the plastic bag that the assassin had brought, "I think Tony has a dinner with Emma." he answers back, "Not really sure tho."

Natasha brows clashes as she hears the familiar name, "Emma?" she asks.

"Uh-huh," Peter mutters, humming in agreement.

"You mean the Emma who he started dating months ago? They're still together?" Nat asked, her frown deepening.

"Yeap, and I feel like they're going to be together for a long time. I mean, Mr. Stark looks happier ever since he met Emma." the kid shrugs.

"Uh-huh," Nat mumbles, nodding her head, "And have you met her?"

"Once," Peter mumbles as he finally settled on a food that he wanted, "But that was before they dated. But now that they're officially dating, I haven't had the chance to meet her again." the kid answers back, "Tony told me that he wants to make sure that it's a serious relationship before he even introduces his girlfriend to me. He doesn't want me to be close with her if it's only temporary... so yeah,"

"Hm," Nat mumbles, as he eyes the teenager on the back seat through the rear view mirror, "And do you think he's happy right now? Do you think this relationship is going somewhere?" she asks. The assassin knew that it was not her business to ask these kind of things but she couldn't help it--there was this nagging feeling at the back of her head to want to know--she guesses it's the inner spy in her wanting to know everything.

Peter shrugs as he takes a bite on the granola bar that he opened, "I think so, yes... I mean this is the longest relationship he has ever had... well, besides from uhh, Ms. Potts." the kid answers back as he coughs awkwardly, "Can we stop with the questions?" Peter asks, "Don't pretend like I don't know that you're currently interrogating me, Nat." the kid warns, "I know those kinds of questions."

The assassin momentarily spaced out as Pepper was mentioned in the conversation but she quickly shook her head to focus on the road, "Fine, I'll stop interrogating you." Nat says absentmindedly as she taps her fingertips on the steering wheel, humming.

Natasha has been in Tony's life longer than the other Avengers had been. She also had the wonderful opportunity to meet the late Pepper Potts and had been lucky enough to have seen everything first hand--Tony and Pepper's love for each other, their friendship... and well, even the death of Pepper on the hands of Aldrich Killian. She had seen it all... she had seen everything about Tony.

Then after that, she's also given another amazing chance to witness Tony--her friend--try to fix his heart over the years after his devastating loss... And then now, to see that very broken heart completely restored because of the man's found family, she just couldn't help but to be over the moon about it. She certainly knows that Tony deserves the happiness that he has right now and she vowed on Pepper Potts' grave that she will do everything to keep it that way.

"But I won't call it interrogating, Peter," Nat says, "I'm just merely asking you about your opinion." she added, "I just want to see if this Emma girl is really the one for Tony." Nat mumbles, her once monotone voice turning to a softer one.

"And you think you can clarify that by asking me?" Peter asks, snorting, "You should ask Tony about it, Nat--not me. Hell, I haven't even have a girlfriend yet."

Nat chuckles at that as she shakes her head, "You mean you haven't asked that scary friend of yours to date you?" she asks, teasing the boy, "Should I give you some tips?"

"What?!" Peter gasps, "You mean MJ?!"

Nat shrugs, "Is that her name?" she asks, "You should let me meet her, Pete. Let's see if she also likes you the way you do."

"Hey, this isn't about me," Peter pouts at the back seat making Natasha chuckle, "Don't add salt to the wound,"

"So you do like her, huh?" Nat smirks.

Peter frowns as he physically deflated, "Is it that obvious?"

Nat shrugs again as she smiles, "To a spy, yes," she answers back.

"I can never hide anything from you, huh?" Peter asks.

Nat just shrugs as they continue traversing the road back to the tower. The two was almost near the tower when Peter spoke out of the blue. "I just want him to be happy Nat," Peter mumbles back and Nat wanted to ask who but then the kid continued, "Tony deserves to be happy too."

Nat stared at the rear view mirror to watch the kid. Peter was looking outside the window while nibbling at his food.

Nat smiles at that as she nods, understanding, "He's happy, Peter," Nat mutters. _He's happy now because he has you._ Nat thought, not really voicing it out loud as she smiles.

\--

Tony never thought he could ever love again... well, not after Pepper.

The death of Pepper surely gave Tony an emotional scar that he can never truly heal from. It was something that completely destroyed and devastated him as soon as he saw Pepper fall and get engulfed by the flames. It was something that made his world stop... It was something that killed something inside of him.

The death of Pepper Potts was also the death of Tony Stark... that's why the billionaire couldn't even fathom how he was able to survive Aldrich Killian that night, knowing that his heart had already stopped beating when the love of his life fell to her demise. He doesn't know why he still kept fighting his deranged enemy when he knew that there was no more life to live. Was it the blood thirsty revenge that was pumping in his blood stream or was it something entirely different? He doesn't know but what's important was that, he fought. Even if his world stopped, he knew that other people's shouldn't. He wanted to save the world from the potential threat then, that is Aldrich Killian--so he did--he kept fighting and fighting... and fighting. 

And fighting...

And somehow, after all the fight that he had done, life brought him here.

"Hello, girl," Tony beams as he pets the cute corgi lying on the carpet, "I missed you so much, little Coco," he says as he rubs the belly of the pup.

"Well, my baby girl surely missed you too, Tony,"

"I'm sure she did," Tony says as he smiles warmly at Coco. "I'm sure you did, girly," he coos, as he continues to rub Coco's belly, while the dog just barks back at the man happily. "I got some toys that I bought for the little princess, actually," he added as he stands up from crouching.

"Don't spoil my dog, Tony," the woman chuckles, "She'll think I'm well off now that I'll be able to buy her more treats and toys."

Tony shrugs at that as he walks towards the kitchen, "So?" the man asks, "I can always provide for her," he says, "Anyway, Coco told me that she really missed me. But what I'm more curious about is how about Coco's mom? Did she miss me?" he asks as he plasters that famous Tony Stark smile.

The blonde girl chuckles, shaking her head, "Depends on your meaning of the word 'miss'," she shrugs, "I mean, you've only been gone for four days, Tony,"

The billionaire chuckles at that, "Gosh, you're hurting my feelings here, Em," he says as he walks closer to the woman and taking her hand away from cutting the cherry tomatoes and holding it tightly, wanting all her attention just for him. "But I, missed you," he confesses.

Emma chuckles, shaking her head, "Fine," she says, "I missed you too, Tony," she ended, tilting her head to the side.

"See, that wasn't so hard," Tony says, smiling cheekily as he leans forward to kiss the woman, feeling utterly lovesick for not being able to see Emma for the past few days, but before he could even land his lips on the girl's, Emma heaves as she pulls away from the man. "Emma?" Tony calls worriedly.

Emma quickly made her way to the sink as she expel the contents of her stomach but only to threw up bile.

Tony's calm demeanor quickly fades away as he rushes closer to the woman, unsure of what to do, "Emma, are you... are you okay?" he asks, concern lacing in his voice.

"I'm fine," Emma assures as she rinses her mouth with water, "I think it's the sushi that my friends and I ate this lunch. I'm not really a fan of raw fish so I guess it made it's presence known by revolting inside my stomach." she says, chuckling, wanting to make the air lighter because she knows that Tony must be worrying right now.

"Are you sure?" Tony asks as he awkwardly places his hand on top of the woman's back.

"I'm fine, Tony," Emma says as she turns towards her boy friend, smiling a little, "I'm fine, you don't need to worry." she added.

Tony smiles in a thin line as he sighs, "You're sure?" he asks.

"100%,"

"Great," Tony says as he leans forward for a kiss.

Emma raises her hands up on top of her lips to stop Tony as she chuckles, "I don't think that's a good idea, Tony," she says, "I can still taste the lingering vomit on my mouth,"

Tony chuckles as she leans on the woman's shoulder, smiling, "You just kiss blocked me twice," he says, "You owe me three now." he kids.

Emma laughs as she playfully places a soft kiss on Tony's head, "Two now," she says.

Tony never thought he could ever kiss somebody again.

Tony never thought that he'll be able to call another girl and feel that very same flutter of his heart like it used to with Pepper.

Tony thought he will never be able to hand out his heart to somebody else other than Pepper... but _here_ he is.

It was last year when Tony felt like he was ready--ready to offer his over flowing heart to other woman other than Pepper. It was last year when he realized that he was ready to be in a relationship again. It was last year that Tony was able to finally move on from Pepper--well, even though the woman still _holds_ a _special_ place in Tony's heart.

Tony was ready to meet other people again, so he did. He met women in the airforce through Rhodey's recommendations. He met random women through Happy. He even tried dating apps that Harley and Peter had recommended to him.

But no one was able to capture the billionaire's attention--it was either those women liked Tony because he is Iron Man or they liked Tony because he is a billionaire and the owner of Stark Industries. But there were few who were genuine enough to last a relationship with Tony for weeks but eventually calling it quits when they found differences with each other and deemed it incompatible. There were few of his exes that he stayed friends with and the others, completely forgotten.

But that all changed when she met Emma Roberts--a renowned biologist that worked with big companies such as Oscorp and Rand Corporation. She was the one responsible for the breakthrough of both business giants. And now, the woman was slowing it down by stepping down from her positions and decided to take a break from her work as a biologist. Now, the woman was keeping her head low by encouraging and speaking with other biologists to step up their work and never giving up in their field through inspirational talks and seminars.

It was in one of the Rand Corporation's Christmas gala that Tony met the woman--Emma was the guest speaker that night to speak about the importance of science and the people behind it while Tony was forced by his secretary, Mrs. Doris to at least spend a good five minutes in the gala just to appease Mr. Rand.

The man could still vividly remember that night. He was standing on the sides, watching the party quietly and deciphering all the memes that Peter and Harley had sent him when he saw the woman walk into the platform.

She was wearing a beautiful midnight blue satin dress that showed her beautiful shoulders and her right leg through a high slit. The woman was definitely gorgeous--her long, blonde hair was curled and let loose, swaying from left to right as she walked. She was beautiful too--a small hint of makeup that still showed her freckles and the brown eye-shadow that complemented her blue eyes. She was just downright divine.

Tony didn't waste his opportunity then as he sparked a conversation with the woman as soon as she finished her speech. They exchanged pleasantries and numbers and then went on their way that night.

The two then started going out for months and getting to know each other. It was on spring this year when they finally made it official and revealed their status to their family and friends.

And now, five months later, Tony is still happily dating Emma.

"That doesn't count, Em," Tony says, chuckling. He leans in and finally claims the woman's lips, "But this does." he says when he pulled away, "Now, you only owe me two."

Coco barks out of nowhere that got the two adults looking at her. The dog just tilts her head to the side, seemingly deciphering what the two was doing.

"I think she's wondering what we're doing," Tony says smiling, "Coco," he says, talking to the dog, "Your mom and I just shared some smooches, no need to worry."

"Gosh, you're so weird," Emma chuckles, looking at Tony's eyes.

"I am," Tony shrugs, "I am weird, and... you're right," he says.

"I'm right?" Emma asks, unsure as to what Tony was talking about.

"You're right," Tony says as he leans away, "That definitely was sushi." he says as Emma's eyes widens, "I definitely tasted something spicy there--probably the wasabi."

"Tony!" Emma exclaims, horrified, while Tony just bursts out laughing at the woman's embarrassed face.

\--

"I told you to be home by 10:45, Peter." Nat mutters as she fired her tranquilizer towards the robber that Peter was fighting, and in an instant, the man dropped.

"Nat? What are you doing here?!" Peter asked, surprised to see the Black Widow standing before him when she was supposed to be back at the tower, reviewing her mission notes.

"Saving your ass, what else?" she answers back as she graciously walked closer towards Peter who was pressing his hand over his stab wound. "When I tell you to be home by 10:45, I expect you to be home by 10:30. And when the clock struck 10:35, I realized that Spider-Man needed backup."

Peter groaned as he met the ex-assassin half-way as best as he could while still applying pressure in his abdomen, "Spider-man doesn't need back up," Peter mumbles as he carefully removed his mask to see his the ex-assassin better, "I was on the verge of defeating that robber."

Natasha just rolled her eyes at that as she took her white handkerchief and applied it around Peter's bicep as a tourniquet, "Yeah, your two stab wounds says otherwise." the woman mumbles as she tightened the handkerchief on the kid's arm.

"Oww!"

"Quit whining," the female spider mutters as she glared at the kid, "What part of 'Be home by 10:45' did you not understand? Was it 'Be home' or '10:45'?" she asked, shaking her head as she rolled her eyes, "Come on, I brought Tony's Audi so you don't need to swing with your injured hand and give me more stress."

Peter and Natasha started their walk towards the place where the ex-assassin had parked the car. The alleys of Queens was pretty much dim so it wasn't such a trouble for both the superhero's identities.

"10:45." Peter blurted out of the blue while they were walking.

"What?"

"I didn't understand 10:45." Peter mutters, "AM or PM?"

Natasha stopped at that and she almost smacked Peter in the head when she heard the kid's answer, "I'm going to pretend you just didn't say that."

"What?" Peter shrugs, "You weren't very specific." he says sarcastically.

Natasha just shook her head at that, "One more word from you and you'll be grounded for the rest of the weekend. I don't care if Tony comes back tonight or whatever, I'll make sure you'll stay grounded."

"I'm already grounded, tho" Peter mutters as he chuckles.

Natasha stops again as he raises a brow at the kid, "And you didn't find the need to tell me?" she asks, "You're grounded, which means you can't go on patrol!"

Peter blanches at that, seemingly getting trapped in his own snare, "I--did I--" he stutters, "I didn't--"

"Tony's going to hear this and I will surely make sure to make you grounded for longer."

"Nat--" he says, wanting to talk it out even though he already knows that it's futile.

"One more word from you and I'll add another week on that." she says.

The kid knew better than to test Natasha's patience and he also knows to always shut up when the ex-assassin talks about him being grounded, because believe it or not, Peter has been grounded by Natasha more times than Tony and May had for the past months--and Natasha haven't even had been home for months.

When they arrived at the compound, Natasha was quick not to let Peter out of her sight because she knows that the kid has zero self-preservation and was very sure that Peter would try and stitch his own wounds up instead of asking her for help.

"Get your ass in the kitchen while I get the first aid kit." she commands.

"It's already healed, Nat," Peter answers back as he took the handkerchief from his healing bicep to show his point, "No need for stitches."

"Sit down or I'll make you," Natasha warns as she stares at Peter's eyes like she was about to devour him.

Peter just pursed his lips at that and quickly obeyed the woman. "But really tho, I'm fine now." Peter mumbles while he settles on the stool.

Natasha sighs at that as she placed the first aid kit on the counter, sitting beside Peter, "With how many times you say that with a knife stuck somewhere around you, I don't really believe it anymore." the woman says without batting an eyelash.

"But it's true tho." Peter shrugs, "I heal fast so it's okay." he says, "You guys always worry too much about me. I mean, I can literally catch a bus with my bare hands or did you guys forget about that too?"

Natasha shrugs, "You're a kid, Peter." she says, "You're May and Tony's _kid_ , to be specific. And I, on the other hand is a responsible adult whose supposed to look after you. So yeah, we got the right to worry about you."

"I know," he says as he looks down, "Sorry," the kid finally says, resigning.

Natasha sighs yet again but not pressing on the topic any further. It hurts her to see Peter in harm's way. It was as if there was something within her that wants nothing else but to see Peter safe and happy. But with the line of their work, it was pretty much impossible.

"I'll accept your apology when you finally learn to call for help when you get hurt, okay?" she says.

"It was fine," Peter says again, "I completely had the upper hand." he mutters as he hiss while Nat continues to stitch him up, "And besides, didn't want to bother you." he confesses. "I know how important your next mission is."

"You're never a bother, Pete," Nat says, "How many times should I drill that on your thick skull?" she asks as she finishes the stitches, "If you get hurt, you contact us, okay?"

Peter just smiles at that as he finally nods, "I'll miss you when you go to Germany."

"I'll always call just like May and Harley does." the woman assures, "But if you need me, always ring me up and I'll always come back here no matter what."

"Even during a mission?"

"Especially during a mission." the woman mumbles, smiling a little as she ties the last knot on Peter's stitches, "It's always boring anyways." she added as she ruffled Peter's hair, "Get changed and head to bed. You always get tired easily when you're injured."

"Okay," Peter answers back, smiling.

"I'll be in my room if you need me," Natasha informed him as she stood up to clean the first aid kit.

"Good night Nat,"

"Good night, паук."

\--

It has been an hour now since Peter and Natasha had retreated to their respective rooms. The ex-assassin was busy doing some SHIELD paper works and reviewing her notes for her mission when she decided to go to the little spider's room and check on him--wanting to make sure that the trouble-making kid was not doing anything crazy.

"Peter?" Natasha called as she slowly opened the kid's door, but when she was answered by silence and a dark room, she knew that Peter was already sound asleep.

Natasha just pursed her lips as she closed the door again and left for the kitchen to get something to nibble on while she's working.

"Friday?"

"Yes, Ms. Romanov?" the AI asked back.

"Is Peter okay?"

"Mr. Parker is doing fine and the wounds that he sustained during his patrol is already healing." the AI answers back.

Natasha then sighs as she grabs two slices of bread, "Peter's grounded but he was able to go to patrol today." the woman begins, "Was there some error that you didn't tell me about it or even warned Tony that his kid just went behind his back?"

"I have alerted boss as soon as Peter had donned on the suit today but I never got a response from him." FRIDAY answers back, "I wasn't able to notify you, Ms. Romanov, that Peter is grounded because it is not in my codes to do so. Should I include it in my codes too?" the AI asks.

Natasha sighs, "No need, Fri." she dismissed, "Just call Tony for me."

"Calling Tony Stark..."

"Nat," the other line answered in just one ring, "Is something wrong?" 

"Nothing to be too worried about, mama bear," Natasha answered back, "I just wanted to ask if Karen or Friday alerted you that Peter went on patrol today?"

"Uh, yeah," Tony says, "I just... I just read about the alert just now."

"And the kid's grounded?" she asks.

"He is," Tony confirms, "Gosh, this kid just can't stay still." the man mumbles more to himself.

Natasha just nods as she take the peanut butter jar and opened it, "He sure can't," she seconds the motion, "Maybe you should put a harness on the kid like those baby harnesses that you can buy at WalMart."

"Those won't work on Peter." Tony says, chuckling, "I tried it once and it didn't end well."

Natasha's brows furrows at that as she spreads her peanut butter on the bread, "Was that sarcastic or..."

"Take the joke, Nat," Tony says on the other line, rolling his eyes heavenwards. "Anyway, is Peter okay?" Tony asks, a slight hint of worry replacing his playful voice.

Natasha scoffed at that as she shakes her head, "Who do you think hauled his ass back here when he didn't arrive on time for his curfew?" she asks as she then took the jar of jelly.

"You," Tony answered back.

"Yeah, me," the woman deadpanned, "So you should know by now that the spider is in good hands."

"Thanks Nat," Tony mumbles, a small smile creeping on his face, "I'm on my way home."

"Where did you even go today?" Nat asks as she finishes making her PB&J sandwich.

Tony shrugs, "I had a date." he says straightforwardly.

"With Emma?" she asks.

"Yes, with my girlfriend."

It was now Nat's turn to shrug, "Good thing I paid a visit then. We could finally catch up with your love life."

Tony sighs at that, "I'll be home in five." he says as he hangs up, leaving Natasha with that fond smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I am able to introduce to you guys my OC which is Emma Roberts ♥  
> This chapter lacked any action and it's just mainly about Irondad and our two spiders.  
> I hope you guys still liked it!
> 
> Please leave some comments and kudos and subscribe to this story to get an e-mail whenever I update.  
> You can also reach me through my tumblr @hanjihyun-ao3 ♥
> 
> Anyways, I love you guys and see you on my next update :*
> 
> Matthew 6:33 - Seek the kingdom of God, above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.  
> ♥♥♥


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